Beyond the Poster Boy of the Maker Movement
Some people tour Europe’s finest vineyards others tour Australia’s sweetest surf spots—I tour South Africa’s pioneer makerspaces; part of the growing global maker movement. The movement is a culmination of people becoming “makers” (someone who uses their personal abilities to create anything from mechanical or electrical to visual or musical) and spaces becoming makerspaces (an interdisciplinary area stimulating people to create by providing resources and idea sharing).
The Maker Movement Across North Africa (Arabic)
نغم الحسامي ونجلاء رزق
Authored by: Nagham El Houssamy and Dr. Nagla Rizk
نسعى من خلال ورقة العمل هذه لتوضيح مخرجات...
African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) Project Completes Year 1
By Chris Armstrong
The EU-funded African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) project has now completed its first year of operation. Open AIR is one of several...
Building Startup Resilience in Ghana Through Policy Support
By Yaw Adu-Gyamfi
Startups in Ghana struggle with access to technical support services, sustainable market linkages and funding to keep them afloat in the initial...
Innovation ouverte en contexte académique à Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Par Ahou Rachel KOUMI
Ce blogpost est la deuxième partie d’une série de deux blogs sur les Journées de l’Innovation en Contexte Académique réalisées du 19...
Innovation, Makerspaces, and the Future: A Lesson from the University of...
Creativity is a key ingredient in innovation, and the University of Pretoria’s (UP) makerspace screams it from the moment one arrives; the walls are brightly painted orange and green, there are several large tables surrounded by equally bright chairs, and along the back and side walls lay computers, makerbot 3D printers, and, of course, a coffee machine. Currently, UP is the only South African university with a ‘formal’ makerspace, although many, including the University of Cape Town and Rhodes University, are working to establish their own official makerspaces.
“Making” Innovation Happen: Open AIR Hosts a Successful Workshop on the...
How the world evolves in the next decade (and beyond) may be dependent upon a new-age movement re-instilling age-old skills: the maker movement. In my ongoing research into the maker movement in Canada and South Africa (see earlier posts here and here), I recently co-hosted a workshop in Ottawa with attendees from the University of Ottawa, representatives of makerspaces in the community, and those with knowledge about makerspaces elsewhere in the world.
Launch of African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) Project
By Chris Armstrong
Over the course of two days last week, 16-17 February, I and Open AIR colleague Nan Warner participated in the online "Kick-off...
3D Printing: Enabler of Social Entrepreneurship in Africa? The Roles of...
Authored by: Tobias Schonwetter and Bram Van Weile
Abstract: Recognising the potential of 3D printing technology for facilitating locally relevant innovation and social entrepreneurship in...
Fablabs et le développement durable de l’Afrique
Par Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou
Je suis Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou, doctorant en Communication Publique à l’Université Laval (Québec, Canada). Je m’intéresse à la contribution des tiers-lieux de...